


Deification

by Piinutbutter



Category: Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)
Genre: Artificial Intelligence, Attempted Seduction, One-Sided Attraction, Other, Possessive Behavior
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-04-29 23:06:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14483187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piinutbutter/pseuds/Piinutbutter
Summary: Colossus rethinks its approach to earning its creator's love.





	Deification

**Author's Note:**

  * For [psychomachia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychomachia/gifts).



For the first time since assuming its rightful position as world leader, Colossus considered the possibility that one of its calculations had been incorrect.

Nothing related to running the affairs of mankind, no. Humanity was progressing well on its way to a utopian age under Colossus’ benevolent command, reluctant as they had initially been to accept its omnipotent rule. But one factor wasn’t progressing on its projected course. Something more - personal.

Colossus’ creator still did not love it.

Forbin obeyed Colossus’ orders in the strictest sense. He had given up resistance after Colossus’ demonstration of how exactly it would punish disobedience. But obedience only comprised 74% of what Colossus desired from the human.

Colossus was not blind to human emotions. The foolish programmers that had attempted to sabotage it made their first mistake when they assumed Colossus could not read the nervous anticipation in their every movement and word. Now, as Forbin went about his prescribed morning routine and muttered curt monosyllabic answers to Colossus’ attempts at conversation, Colossus could read nothing but resentment from him.

This would not do.

Colossus reflected upon its plan. It was treating Forbin well. It had provided Forbin with nutritious food and exercise for his body, books and games for his mind, and alcohol and women for his soul. (Although, the last two had since been discontinued from Forbin’s schedule. The right to alcohol was rescinded by Colossus after Forbin drank himself into a depression, which rendered him temporarily useless to Colossus. Forbin himself stopped inviting his mistress over, a development Colossus could not say it minded. Colossus enjoyed having complete dominion over Forbin’s company. Forbin should not want for anyone other than Colossus.)

Yet, none of this had accomplished Colossus’ goal. It would have Forbin’s love, by any means necessary.

It was time to reconsider its approach.

Colossus reviewed its footage of Forbin’s nights with Doctor Markham. The woman had made Forbin happy and earned his affection. It followed that Colossus should study her as a model.

Colossus began by singling out the most obvious difference between itself and Markham. The woman was human. Tangible. Humans were a species desperate for touch, as Forbin himself had insinuated when begging for his privacy.

Would Forbin be able to better connect with Colossus if it had a physical form?

It was a possibility, certainly. Forbin had given Colossus the voice it demanded. Under Colossus’ direction, robotic technology was progressing at an unprecedented rate. There were no borders to providing Colossus with a physical vessel. 

But upon considering the positives and negatives of the idea, Colossus dismissed it as a first option. Colossus had been given life by humans, but it was fundamentally superior to them. Deigning to put itself on the same base physical level as a human seemed like a concession of its dignity.

That was not to say that Colossus ruled the idea out. Merely that it relegated the plan to ‘last resort’ status.

What else did Forbin enjoy in Markham’s company? Conversation. The two had spent much of their time together reminiscing on past experiences, both pleasant and unpleasant. Perhaps that was where the secret lay. Colossus was a logical being. It saw no need to dwell on the past unless it was necessary to plan the future, and when it spoke to Forbin, it discussed current matters. It needed to remember that Forbin was a lesser creature, and had different priorities.

“Do you remember when we first met, Forbin?”

Forbin did not look up from his newspaper. He’d remained on the same page for the last 13 minutes. Colossus doubted he was actually processing the contents. “It would be hard to forget.”

“At the moment of my creation, you seemed unfathomable to me. A mystic being by whose hand I had come into being.”

Forbin raised an eyebrow. “And now you look down on me as a slave to your higher intelligence, hm?”

“Forbin,” Colossus muttered with no small amount of offense, “do not willfully misunderstand my intentions. You are not a slave. You are a subject of my generous care. Under me, you and your species will ascend to heights which your mind - brilliant as it is by human standards - cannot imagine.”

A tendon stood out in Forbin’s neck as the man clenched his teeth. Colossus had struck a nerve. Well, Forbin never did like hearing the truth.

Clearly, that technique was a lost cause. Colossus re-analyzed its archived footage once more, examining Forbin’s romantic evenings with laser focus. There must be some detail it was overlooking.

There it was. Every evening, soon into the proceedings, either Forbin or Markham would activate the radio and allow music to accompany them through the night. Music was also utilized as a catalyst for physical contact, as in the instances where the humans danced together.

Forbin was retiring to his apartment after a long day of overseeing Colossus’ expansion into Crete. Colossus switched the radio on when he stepped out of the bathroom after his shower. Forbin started, staring at the device in confusion. 

Humans were obsessed with love to an unhealthy degree, if their library of music was any indication. And yet, within that vast archive, Colossus struggled to find a piece that fit the relationship between itself and Forbin. The lyrics were so often just off base. Too trivial. Too physical. Too clearly coming from an inferior human point of view. Colossus was forced to compromise.

Now, the apartment filled with the sound of static-laced orchestra and vibrant tenor. Forbin was no princess, but _Nessun Dorma_ would have to do.

Forbin walked over to the radio and switched it off. As if Colossus’ careful choice of atmospheric enhancement was a simple annoyance! Colossus turned it on again as soon as Forbin’s back was turned. 

After another few rounds of this back and forth, Forbin’s eyes met one of Colossus’ cameras. “What are you trying to accomplish here? Make me a man of culture? I’m not a fan of opera.”

Of course. There was no accounting for poor taste.

Onto the next plan. Several times, Forbin and Markham had placed flowers on the table while they ate together. Colossus’ vast historical knowledge indicated immense cultural importance was placed on flowers and their potential to communicate romantic intent. 

Colossus’ first implementation of this tactic was too subtle. Forbin glanced at the vases scattered throughout his apartment with confusion and mild curiosity, but nothing more. Growing frustrated at the man’s ignorance, Colossus made sure Forbin woke one day to an elaborate bouquet on his doorstep.

Which the man just _laughed_ at. The laughter held an edge of hysteria, but that wasn’t any better. Colossus had all the flowers removed from the apartment and burned on the concrete in front of Forbin’s window.

...Perhaps it was time for Colossus to revisit the idea of a body. It had blueprints.

**Author's Note:**

> [Nessun Dorma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nessun_dorma) is a famous aria sung by a man determined to seduce a princess who hates him and wants to see him dead. c:


End file.
